Custom shifter knob

[matria]

I am combining a couple of hobbies and am in the process of turning a couple of gear shift knobs out of a piece of redwood burl. I am trying to find a internaly threaded sleeve, M8 x 1.25, to fit the threads on the shifter. Has anyone seen such a thing or have any suggestions? Thanks.

[v12horse]

That sounds awesome. Hmmm, there are a lot of junky shift knobs on ebay, maybe you could just take the metal peice with the treads in it and fit it onto the knob that you are making. I think that is awesome that you are going to make your own knobs. In high school, I took woodshop and I loved it. Keep us posted and post pics of your progress.

[v12horse]

This was all I could find. I personally think you would be better off taking apart an old datsun knob.

http://www.flameball.com/Accessories/ACC-Spline.htm

[hls30.com]

I pulled a couple of worn shifter knobs at the wrecking yard to get the inserts. They fit right, they were designed for the purpose, and I got to see how they were fastened-don't want a new turning to crack from having too small of a fitting hole. Reverse engineering is cheeper than trial and error!

Will

[matria]

Thanks for the responses. I looked around a bit at some of the local hardware stores and did not find anything worthwhile. I thought about getting a 1/2"X1/2" aluminum or brass rod, cutting it to length, drilling, and then running a tap through it. I have a tap that is long enough to do at least 1". Do you think that the aluminum or brass would be to soft? Should I look at some sort of steel or other metal? I have several natural colors of wood that I am going to try: browns, blacks, purple, yellow, reds, oranges, creamy white, etc. I should have pictures by next weekend. Thanks again.

[hls30.com]

Hard brass or the harder alloys of aluminum(6061, Fortal) would work great. It looks like the inserts I pulled are made of softbrass-already repaired with a helicoil- or Zamak, and are glued in using epoxy or silicone.

I am setting up a home foundary. As I get closer to completion-a month or so, I will see about casting some inserts using a M8x1.25 bolt as a core. It might take away the need to thread a hard to hold insert.

Will

[matria]

Will, I look forward to hearing from when you are up and running. I will try to locate the items you mentioned and see if I can get them to work. Thanks, Skip

[hls30.com]

Skip,

Are you turning green(not yet properly dried) wood?

Will

[hls30.com]

I hope to cast and enamel a series of Z items-including emblems for the top of shifter knobs-one that parallels the center portion of a late 240 quarter-window vent.

Will

[matria]

Will,

All of the woods that I am working with right now are well seasoned and at about 10% moisture content. Once the summer heat comes, the shop is going to get hot and dry it out even more.

One of the ideas I had is to cut out a copy of the Z emblem from sheet silver, about 3/4" high, and inlay it in the top of the knob. Possibly try to inlay a version of a 5 spd pattern.

Skip

[hls30.com]

Skip,

Silver tarnishes, and the tarnish stains everything you touch. I have a thin sheet of Sterling Silver that would probably take an impression of an emblem, I might Play with that Tonight-sounds interesting!Most of the shifter emblems are nickle plated, and then enameled.

I asked about the green woods because I have heard that burls are much less prone to fall apart if turned while green-I was going to give that a try-but haven't gotten there yet!

Will

[matria]

Probably food for a different forum, but...

Green wood is easy and fun to turn. If you finish turning it wihle it is green and fresh, the round bowl you just made might be oval by morning. They can dry into some incredible shapes or just crack and become firewood. I have several blanks that I rough turn, seal, and let them sit for 1-2 years until it they are dry enough to finish turning without distorting.

Would the silver tarnish under a clear coat? The top of the knob is constantly under attack by fingernails, rings, the impromptu drumstick etc. that I think that the finish might crack and air in. I will keep thinking about this one.